Debt Archives

Getting out of debt

Practical articles about the different debt options, which might work for you and different ways of dealing with creditors

Loan sharks – where to get help and support

I was asked by a reader if a loan shark can take someone to the small claims court to recover a debt. If you have not received any credit documents on a loan that you have taken out, you may be a victim of a loan shark. If you call the England Illegal Money Lending Team on 0300 555 2222 they can offer you specialist support. Loan sharks are illegal and operate without the correct permission … [Read more...]

“Should I stop paying Amigo?” – the pros & cons

UPDATE In May 2022 the Amigo second Scheme was approved by the court. In November the deadline for making a claim to the Scheme passed. See Amigo's Scheme for details. With a current loan, you have three options once you have made a claim: you can carry on paying it if it is affordable. if you have paid more to this last loan than you borrowed, you can ask Amigo to let you pause paying … [Read more...]

Amigo now lets some people pause paying – the right of Equitable Set Off

UPDATES In November 2023, Amigo started deleting some loans from people's credit records. it says "In this situation, it is probable that the claim has been either fully or partially upheld" That may make you feel more comfortable choosing equitable set-off. The deadline for making a claim to the Amigo Scheme was in November 2022 - it is now too late to make a claim. If you have not made a … [Read more...]

How to get a payday loan refund

Did your payday loans cost so much when you repaid one you had to keep on borrowing? You can get a refund of the interest you paid on unaffordable loans. It's easy to ask for a payday loan refund using the free template letters here. The letters work if your payday loans were repaid or you still owe money. The comments below this article have thousands of stories of the refunds people … [Read more...]

Can I get a mortgage with recent defaults?

A reader, Mr D, asked: My partner and I have a combined income of £56,000, We have a deposit of £28,000 (inheritance) and are looking to become first time buyers at a price of £230,000. We have defaulted debts that are being paid off, and previous history of payday loans from over 2 years ago from a time when our financial situation was much more difficult. The defaults are about 18 months … [Read more...]

Bank accounts for all sorts of bad credit problems, even bankruptcy

In 2016 the major UK banks all introduced new "basic bank accounts". One of the main aims was to widen bank account access to groups of people who have found it difficult or impossible to open an account: people who have gone bankrupt previously found it very hard to get a bank account; people in an IVA, DRO or debt management need to change bank accounts and have the overdraft on their … [Read more...]

Gambling – get refunds from loans, credit cards & overdrafts

Many people with a gambling problem have been given unaffordable credit. This fueled their gambling and they got deeper into debt. Credit is affordable if you can repay it and still pay your other debts, bills and expenses. If it is unaffordable, then you can ask for a refund of interest and charges and take a complaint the lender declines to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS). But gambling … [Read more...]

What happens to your possessions in bankruptcy?

The bankruptcy application says "It is very unlikely that items you need for your daily life (eg washing machine, sofa, refrigerator) will be sold". Here are a selection of questions here that people have asked about what may happen to the things they own if in bankrupty. I may not have mentioned your exact situation, but the answers here try explain how the Official Receiver makes … [Read more...]

Is your name in a fraud database?

There are three large UK databases aimed at alerting lenders to possible fraudulent applications for borrowing: National Hunter, Cifas and Sira. If your name is on one of these connected with fraud you may find it difficult or impossible to take out credit and your bank account may be closed. But sometimes the information on the databases may be wrong and you need to get it corrected. In … [Read more...]

When to send a Prove It letter about a debt

If you get a letter saying you owe money on a debt you don’t recognise, or which you thought you had paid off, you need to challenge the creditor to prove that you do owe the money. Sometimes debt collectors have simply got the wrong person. This is sometimes called a mis-trace. This is what the Financial Ombudsman says about mis-traces: We would ask a debt collector to provide evidence to … [Read more...]